The Monte and Chaco Regions of ARGENTINA the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and Desert Legume Program Expedition
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The Monte and Chaco Regions of ARGENTINA The Boyce Thompson Arboretum and Desert Legume Program Expedition by Matthew B. Johnson Figure 1. Tephrocactus aoracanthus, northwest of San Juan. MJB Johnson Argentina 29 picked up a rental vehicle and drove to our hotel in the city. Matthew B. Johnson Driving in Argentina, particularly in urban areas, is not for the Desert Legume Program timid. Boyce Thompson Arboretum and We visited a small nature preserve in the hills on the west side the University of Arizona of Mendoza for our first look at the plants of this region of 2120 East Allen Rd. the country. The vegetation in this part of the Monte Desert Tucson, AZ 85719 resembles the vegetation in parts of the Chihuahuan Desert of North America. Shrubs predominate, with a variety of herba- ceous plants and smaller cacti. Many spring-flowering species Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of an article that previously were in bloom. Larrea cuneifolia, one of the South American appeared in Aridus, the Bulletin of The Desert Legume Program of Boyce creosote bushes in the Zygophyllaceae was particularly abun- Thompson Arboretum and The University of Arizona, Issue 13:1, February dant. It is called “jarilla norte sur” after the north south orienta- 2001. tion of the foliage. Also in abundance was Zuccagnia punctata, “jarilla melosa”, a caesalpinioid legume that superficially resembles Larrea from a Argentina is a country of great natural beauty and distance. This attractive evergreen shrub has racemes of small diversity. Extending from north of the Tropic of Capricorn yellow flowers and resinous foliage with an aroma similar to to Tierra del Fuego, much of the country has a dry climate. that of spruce trees (Picea spp.). It typically grows 1-2 m high, Legumes are an important element of many plant communities, but in favorable sites may attain 4 m. Zuccagnia is an excellent particularly in the Chaco and Monte regions in the northwest, candidate for introduction as a low water-use landscape plant. the area that we planned a visit. The purpose of the trip was to Other legumes present included Parkinsonia praecox (Cercidium observe and photograph the vegetation in a variety of habitats praecox subsp. glaucum). This subspecies tends to remain shrubby for assistance in further development of the Argentine plant unlike the widespread subsp. praecox. Senna aphylla is common exhibits at the Arboretum, to document information on many here. This attractive plant is leafless beyond the seedling stage, of the native legumes, and to make contacts with individuals for and resembles species of Ephedra (Ephedraceae) with its possible collaboration. numerous slender green stems. Senna aphylla has done well in On the first day of November, 2000, BTA and DELEP cultivation in southern Arizona and is beginning to be grown as Director Bill Feldman, BTA Horticulturist Jeff Petrie, and I a landscape plant. A shrubby algarrobo, Prosopis flexuosa, Prosopi- departed Phoenix for Buenos Aires via Miami. We enjoyed a dastrum globosum, and a species of Adesmia were also found here. mild and sunny spring day in the Argentine capital as we visited Another inter esting shrub at this site is Bougainvillea spinosa, in bookstores to seek out references on the flora of the country. the Nyctaginaceae, with spiny stems, reduced leaves and small A final flight took us to Mendoza, a pleasant city situated at yellow bracts subtending the flowers. Many of the other plants the base of the mountains in a large agricultural region. Rivers were recognizable as the same genera as plants found in dry flowing down from the Andes provide water for irrigation. We regions of North America. Mr. Frederico Soria, a ranger at the preserve, assisted us with plant identification. The following day we headed west from Mendoza and up into the Andes. Ranges of steep and rugged mountains rise above arid valleys. Each turn in the road presented scenic views and changing geology. Larrea cuneifolia is replaced by Larrea divaricata as elevation increases. A notable cactus in this area is Denmoza rhodacantha. In growth form it resembles some of the North American Ferocactus species. Though present at the nature preserve, this species grows larger in the more favorable condi- tions at higher elevations. Some hillsides supported hundreds of plants attaining heights up to 2 m. Several of the legumes we observed at the nature preserve the previous day were common here. Higher up we entered a dry grassland community with scattered shrubs. Immense snow-capped peaks tower above the landscape. Clouds were lowering and snow began to fall. A few Figure 2. The steep grades of Highway 7 near Mendoza, Argentina. Figure 1. Tephrocactus aoracanthus, northwest of San Juan. MJB The Andes Mountains rise in the distance. MJB kilometers from the border with Chile we turned off at Cerro 30 Desert Plants 31(1) October 2015 Aconcagua Provincial Park. At 6,962 m (22,834 ft), Aconcagua tive corkscrew-like fruits. Prosopis chilensis became increasingly is the highest point in the Americas. After a short hike near the common northward. The vegetation became denser with new park headquarters, the biting wind, freezing temperatures, and species appearing as we entered the Arid Chaco, a vast shrubby snow squalls hastened our return to Mendoza. woodland lying between the Monte Desert and the Semiarid We departed for San Juan and then north toward La Rioja. Chaco. We encountered numerous trees of Senegalia visco (Acacia The weather was mild with variable clouds. This vast desert visco) along drainages coming out of the mountains north of country felt familiar in many respects. Much of the area had Chepes. This is the largest acacia native to Argentina. It can received significant rainfall in previous months resulting in lush grow to 15 m (50 ft) high, is unarmed and has lacy foliage. vegetation and numerous wildflowers. The shrubs and many It is sometimes planted in plazas and along streets as a shade cacti were flowering as well. In addition to the widespread tree. The acacias and algarrobos were especially attractive with Parkinsonia praecox, Prosopis flexuosa and Senna aphylla, we saw the fresh, bright green, newly emerged foliage. Senegalia visco Mimosa ephedroides, another Ephedra mimic. Though it produces has been cultivated in Arizona under the mistaken identity of leaves under favorable conditions, for much of the year it is Acacia abyssinica. The original plants in the state were planted at Figure 3. Zuccagnia punctata. Parque Nacional Sierra de las Qui- Figure 5. Parkinsonia praecox, east of San Juan. Photo: JMP jadas, San Luis. MBJ Boyce Thompson Arboretum over 80 years ago. Lowering skies and rain showers greeted us as we headed west again into the Monte. At Valley of the Moon, in northern San Juan Province, we encountered intermittent fog, drizzle and a steady cold wind. It was quite a treat to see such an arid desert region under these conditions. Outside of La Rioja, in the rugged Sierra de Velasco we encountered a variety of legumes including Mimosa farinosa. This mimosa is a small to large shrub with small and relatively innocuous prickles. Senegalia furcatispina (Acacia furcatispina), “garabato negro”, certainly deserves the name “barbed wire acacia” for its peculiar armament. The painfully sharp, opposed spines are set on short spurs along the stems and are particularly difficult to disentangle without being hooked Figure 4. Vachellia aroma, near San Juan. JMP by adjacent spines. This plant has done well in cultivation in southern Arizona and would be very effective if planted as a leafless, with unarmed, photosynthetic twigs. Another common security hedge. The rocky slopes support forests of Echinopsis and widespread legume is Prosopis torquata. This usually shrub- terscheckii (Trichocereus terscheckii), a large columnar cactus resem- by species has racemes of bright yellow flowers and distinc- bling the saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea, of the Sonoran Desert. The Johnson Argentina 31 slopes were covered with masses of spiny terrestrial bromeliads and these, together with the low but dense woody and often spiny vegetation, made walking around on the slopes challeng- ing. While the vegetation resembles Arizona in some respects, the ground bromeliands (Dyckia and Deuterocohnia) as well as an abundance of three species of epiphytic Tillandsia, and the presence of parrots, provided significant contrasts. The area around Aimogasta to the north of the Sierra de Velasco is particularly arid, receiving perhaps 100 mm of rain- fall per year. We traveled north towards Andagala, in Catamarca Province, along the west side of the massive Sierra de Ambato. An extensive salt pan, the Salar de Pipinaco, lies to the west at the lowest part of a vast basin. Skies were sunny and the wind was considerable. Yellow flowers of Vachellia aroma and white flower of Senegalia furcatispina provided color among the denser shrubby vegetation along the lower bajada. At this more northerly and warmer latitude, plants such as Parkinsonia praecox and Senna aphylla had mostly finished flowering. Several olive plantations have recently been planted in this area. Numerous broad, sandy arroyos drain the mountain range. These often support huge trees of Prosopis chilensis, some of which are up to 15 m (50 ft) tall with trunks a meter or more in diameter. Near Andagala the vegetation, dominated by Vachellia, Larrea, Prosopis and large Echinopsis, was especially reminiscent of that in parts of the Sonoran Desert. Heading back to the south, the wind had churned up an impressive dust storm. The sun faded to a pale disk in the brown haze and visibility was reduced to less than a kilometer as airborne sand snaked and rippled across the Figure 6 (above). Tillandsia duratii, an epiphyte, is growing from Echinopsis terscheckii in the Sierra del Velasco. MBJ Figure 7 (left).